Scared, Are You?
by antilogicgirl
Summary: KakashixOC, slightly different universe. Natsumi's friends with Ino and Kakashi. Her ex, Aoi, calls her, and she needs moral support. Some pretty funny moments, a little...er a lot of foul language.
1. Phone Calls

**A/N**: Ok, guys. Here's a little crack-fic for you. It's all KakashixOC. Kakashi is his normal perverted self...Yipee! It's my first non-canon Naruto fic. They have cars and cell phones and stuff, but they're still in Konoha. And there's a Universtiy, which is where Takuda Natsumi goes to school. Other than that, I guess that's about it, other than the fact that there's suggestive language, foul language, suggestigve behavior, and mention of hentai (as is only usual for a Kakashi fic).

**Legal Stuffiness**: I don't own Naruto or any characters within. If only!

Only one rule--enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1: Phone calls. 

_--Rrrrring!--_

I rolled my eyes. _Who the hell is calling me this late?_ I had just settled down with a bowl of ramen and a nice cup of tea. I was going to distract myself from writing yet another term paper, when of course, the phone rings. Grumbling, I get up and stumble over a stack of books on the floor. And this only one step in the direction of the phone. _I should have turned the damned ringer off!_ The books skittered across the floor, and I sighed. Grabbing the phone, I pulled it off of the stand and pressed the little button labeled TALK.

"Hello?" I asked in a rather harassed voice.

"Hello, darlin'." The familiar voice on the other end said.

"Fuck you." I hung up, wishing I had a corded phone, so that I could have the satisfaction of slamming it down in the bastard's ear. It immediately rang again. Fuming, I answered it again. "What the hell do you want?"

"I just wanted to come over. Can I?"

"Do you have amnesia or something? You broke up with me last week. Are you really expecting that I would just let you come over?" I was thinking about how it had happened.

* * *

_I was sitting on my rickety couch, staring down at the phone in my hands, a disbelieving look on my face. "What's the matter Natsumi?" My friend's voice came from the door to the bathroom. I looked up at the blonde-haired girl. "He dumped me, Ino. He fucking dumped me over the fucking phone."_

"_Oh, sweetie…" Ino started toward me._

_I stood up. "Fuck this. I'm not studying anymore. Let's get out of here. We're going over to my aunt's bar."_

"_Um, Natsumi, it's Saturday. You know who's working tonight, right?" Ino's voice held concern. She knew damned good and well that Mitsui Aki was working the bar, and that he'd been trying to get into my pants for years._

_I rounded on her. "Do I look like I care right now?" I grabbed my coat and my shoes. "He called me and dumped me. Not just that, but his friends were with him, and they were waiting in line for tickets to a movie." That made it seem to me, and to Ino as well, that breaking off a two-and-a-half year long relationship had been an afterthought to him._

_Later that same night…_

"_I think you've had enough, Natsumi." Ino dragged the glass from my hand, and I didn't protest. I nodded. Aki looked worried. Ino waved him off, and I followed Ino out of the bar, giving my aunt Chieko a kiss on the way out. _

* * *

"Well?" I was very close to yelling into the phone.

"Natsumi, I thought we were going to be friends?" The bastard had the gall to sound innocent. _Motherfucker! I hate that green-haired sonovabitch!_

My voice dropped to a low growl. "Yeah. Sure. Come over. I've been meaning to talk to you about this, you chicken-shit bastard. You've got fifteen minutes, or I'm coming to you." I pressed the little button on the phone so hard that I thought I might have broken it. Then I immediately regretted saying what I had. He was coming over. _Shit._ My fingers instinctively dialed another number.

"Hi. Yeah. It's me. Can you come over? I need you here as soon as you can be here. Aoi is coming. No, I'm not an idiot. I just need moral support. Please? Thank you. I love you, Kakashi!" Hanging up the phone, I had begun to sweat. What the hell was I doing? For one thing, my asshole and evil bastard of an ex was coming to my apartment, and I had just told Hatake Kakashi that I loved him. _Double shit._ "I take it back," I said to the walls. "I am an idiot."

Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I wrenched it open, and dragged the silver-haired man in the door. I slammed it shut again, and squeezed the man around his waist. I looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks, Kakashi. I just don't know that I can handle seeing him by myself right now."

He looked down at me, his eye narrowing. "Then why not call Ino or Hinata? They live closer."

"You got here fast enough." I smirked. This was always the kind of talk that passed between he and I. One or the other of us would make some kind of insinuation (usually of a sexual nature) and the other would just brush it off or drag it out nearly to the point where neither one could stand it. But amazingly enough, nothing had ever happened between us. It was the sort of thing I wondered about late at night when I couldn't sleep. I never really thought that I would object if he actually asked me out, but then again, he never did, so there was no point in worrying about it.

His eye crinkled in a smile. "Oh, you know I can't resist a damsel in distress, especially if it's you, Natsumi." His tone was suggestive, as always.

"Tease." Just then, there was a knock on the door. "That's him!" I hissed. "What am I gonna do?"

His eye glittered, a very mischievous light there. "Leave it to me. Ok. I'm apologizing in advance." I was confused for a minute. Before I could ask what he was talking about, he reached over and pulled the elastic band from my hair, and I got a face full of the dark brown stuff. His hands then ripped open the front of my shirt, buttons flying across the room. Through my hair, I saw him looking. I pushed my hair out of my green eyes and glared at him.

He took off his forehead protector and handed it to me, motioning that I should hold it. Then he unzipped his vest, un-tucked his shirt, and pulled down his ever-present mask. The icing on the cake was when he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He smiled evilly, reaching for the door with one hand and grasping the back of my head with the other. Just as the door was fully open, he kissed me.

It took everything I had not to blink in surprise. I tried to pull away, but he kept up the charade for another four or five seconds. When he finally released my mouth and I was able to turn my head, I saw Aoi standing there in the doorway, an almost comical look of shock on his face. His short green hair was flipped out as usual, and his very odd eyes were very wide. His mouth hung open, and then his eyes fixed on Kakashi, narrowing.

Kakashi released the doorknob and gave a small wave. "Yo."

Though it had taken me a few moments to catch on to what Kakashi was thinking, I got the picture clearly now, and had decided to play along. "Ah…um." I slid down from where I was and landed on the floor. Twirling Kakashi's forehead protector in my hands, I stepped toward Aoi. "I'm sorry, _darlin'_, I'm a little busy right now. Maybe you can go be friends with someone else." Arching an eyebrow, I kicked the door shut, and locked it quickly.

I laughed quietly. "Wow. That was…insane. You're good at thinking on your feet, Kakashi." He was re-zipping his vest, smiling. The jounin began to pull his mask back up. "Aww. You know," I mused aloud, "I've always wondered why you cover up your face. It's so pretty…" I blinked. _Did I just say that? What the…_

Kakashi snorted. "Well, I'm glad I could be of service, anyway." His eyes started to drift down again, and I realized that my blouse was still open, my bra showing and everything! "Hmm. I would have thought it would be white, not red." That earned him a glare and a punch in the chest. "Hey! It was just an observation!" Then a second later, "Do you match?"

"Kakashi!" I screamed indignantly. He laughed even harder than before. I threw his forehead protector at his head. Like the super-ninja that he is, though, he caught it. "Damn. Just when I'm really pissed at you, I can't even throw stuff at you!" I was sure he was smirking at me. That was one of the reasons I hated that mask. I could never really tell what was going on inside his head.

Before he put the thing back over his eye, he winked at me with his Sharingan. "Oh, is that pissed? And here I thought you were flirting with me…"

I snorted, crossing my arms under my breasts, which only drew his attention to them even more. At the moment, I didn't care. "You'd _know_ it if I was flirting with you, baka." His one visible eyebrow rose. "Don't go getting any of your perverted ideas, teme." Then I sagged where I stood as relief washed over me. "I'm really glad you came over. I don't know what I'd do without you." This was said quietly.

"Frankly, Natsumi, you'd probably have taken him back."

"Do you really think I have so little self-control?" I was getting angry again.

"No, ma'am. I think you have great self-control. If you didn't have any, you would have jumped me as soon as the door closed." I blinked. There were times when he was so blatantly honest with his opinion that it was scary.

Snorting, I said, "You wish." Then I looked over at him. I didn't want him to leave just yet. There was always the chance that Aoi would wait for him to leave. "You wanna watch a movie?" He shrugged as if to say "Why not?" I smiled. "Ok. You pick something, and I'll go change so you don't jump _me_." He chuckled. By the time I got back into the room, I saw that he had a movie sitting next to him on the couch, and he was reading one of his hentai books. "Which one is that, Kakashi?"

"Volume six. Not the best one, but it works."

"Let me see which movie you picked. Ack! That's not one of _my_ movies!" My eyes widened at the title of the movie next to him. _Icha Icha Paradise, the Movie_. I guessed that he'd gone home to get that one. He seemed to be trying not to laugh. "Do we have to?" He looked up at me with a very mischievous glint in his eye. "Fine. Just don't expect me to like it." But I did like it, really. If you took out all of the sex, and there was a _lot_ of it, the plot wasn't bad, and the situations weren't too implausible.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked as he stood to leave. I shook my head. "I'll see you later. Have a good day at school tomorrow."

"Good night, Kakashi."

"'Night, my little damsel in distress." He teased, and before I could throw one of the couch pillows at him, he was gone. I laughed to myself. Sometimes, he was just so infuriating…

* * *

The next day, at school.

I walked past one of the many bulletin boards, and noticed a flyer for a self-defense course. I pulled it down, folding it and shoving it into my pocket. It would be nice to learn some of that stuff, just in case Aoi turned into a stalker, like I knew he would be capable of doing. Then I went into my history class.

Later, at lunch, I took the bright green paper out, and read it. Something seemed familiar about the phone number. My voice was loud, and incredulous. "Kakashi? Teaching self-defense? Oh, this is too good to pass up." I reached into my bag, digging for my cell phone. After punching the number on the flyer, I waited. After six rings, I heard Kakashi answer lazily.

"Moshi, moshi. How can I help you?"

In a higher pitched voice than I normally use, I said, "Is this the person who's teaching the self defense course?"

"Hai, hai."

"I was wondering if I could have a _private _lesson." It was so hard not to laugh, especially with the uncomfortable silence on the other end of the phone.

"Well, I—"

At that point, I couldn't hold it in any more, and I pulled the phone away from my ear as I screeched in laugher. Putting it back up to my ear, I laughed, "It's me, Kakashi."

"And you call _me_ a tease?" His voice sounded like a growl. "I'm gonna need a cold shower after this."

"Did you need one last night?"

"That goes without saying, Natsumi."

My tone lowered, and became husky. "Well, another one wouldn't hurt you then, would it?" I heard him groan, but I couldn't tell if it was out of annoyance or something else. "Oh, sorry. I didn't want to bug you too much. Are you really teaching self-defense?"

"Yup. If you would like a private lesson, it would be fine. I wouldn't charge you, Natsumi." He was totally serious.

"Really?" I brightened up considerably.

"Of course. Now, let me see…How about Thursday?" I agreed, and the time for this was set for seven o-clock in the evening. "You should wear something that will allow you a lot of movement." I said ok, and then he laughed. "I'm going to take that cold shower now."

* * *

Ino stared incredulously. "_What!_ You mean to tell me that you kissed him?" I rolled my eyes.

"No, Ino. He kissed me. And it was only to freak Aoi out. It's no big deal." I fiddled with the papers on her desk. Her eyebrows shot up. "What are you looking at me like that for? I said it's not a big thing."

Ino tapped her fingers on her desk. "So 'not big' that he's giving you a private self defense lesson! And he isn't charging you for it. Oh, Natsumi, why don't you two just get it over with?"

My eyes bulged, anger flaring. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

The blonde woman smirked. "You know exactly what I mean. The two of you have been dancing circles around each other for years. For crying out loud, Natsumi. You were halfway there last night, and you didn't? There's gotta be something wrong with you." My friend was in her matchmaker mode. I rolled my eyes yet again. "Is he at least a good kisser?"

I blinked. "You know, I hadn't really stopped to think about it. I don't really remember." Really, I hadn't. I was so busy worrying whether or not Aoi was going to try to kick Kakashi's ass that I didn't have time to enjoy myself.

"Liar!"

Just then, Sakura's head poked into the room from the hallway. "What are you yelling about, Ino? Oh, hi Natsumi-san." Ino blurted out the entire situation to Sakura. The pink haired woman's face turned the same color as her hair. "You mean that Kakashi-sensei kissed you?" Her knees seemed to go weak. "That's great! He's really hot. But don't tell him I said so!"

My eyes rolled instinctively. I'm not the sort to just get all giggly over a man. That's probably why I never really liked Sakura that much. She is very giggly. "Will you two cut it out? Kakashi and I are just friends. If it were ever to become more than that, it would be really weird. It would be like…like if you started dating Naruto, Sakura." That shut her up fast. She was still after that snobbish Uchiha, and I never did see what it was she liked in him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a paper to write."

* * *

**A/N**: Hehe. I love Kakashi. Unfortunately, I don't own him either (sighs). Ino's cool, too. If you like her, and this is the first fic of mine you've read, check out "A Meaning In Death," where she's one of the main characters. She's just so delightfully bitchy!  



	2. Light My Fire

**A/N**: Well. Here's chapter two. Um. Warnings: suggestive situations...OOC (slight)...LOADS of foul language. To all you Kakashi-lovers...this chapter is for you. But beware! If you like Kakashi to be with Iruka I'll tell you--IT AIN'T HAPPENING. I'm not the yaoi goddess. That would be...well, someone other than me. I only use it at times for humor, and never in this fic. You get a lot more of Aoi's personality in this chapter, which proves to be slimier than in the first. And it will only seem worse from there. Ok. I'll shut up now.

**Legal Stuffiness**: Nope. Don't own Naruto or any of the characters in it. Natsumi is me...I mean mine. Yeah. Mine.

On with the show!

* * *

Chapter 2: Light My Fire

The phone rang at midnight.

My hand knocked the alarm clock off of the nightstand, and grabbed the phone. "What?" I said, more than a little curtly.

"That was a nasty trick, darlin'."

"Aoi, why don't you go play in traffic and let me fucking well sleep?" My annoyance was plain, but as always, it didn't phase him.

"Are you sleeping with Hatake?" His voice had gone from the sticky-sweet tone when I answered the phone to a dangerous mixture of anger and curiosity. That was not a good sign.

My eyes narrowed. What was he up to? "If I said I was?"

"Then I would have to say that he should be very, very careful." The line went dead. My eyes widened.

"Shit." I was wide-awake, now. I tore around the room, grabbing clothes and a jacket, and dressing on my way out of the door. "Shit. Shit, double-shit!" I yelled, running down the stairs, and then finally deciding to slide down the banisters for the rest of the way. Five floors is a long way to run if you're wearing heeled boots. The entire six blocks over to Kakashi's apartment, I ran, huffing. He answered the door in his boxers. "Lemme in, baka!" I pushed past him. He was bleary, else he wouldn't have let me in so easily.

I collapsed on the couch. He closed the door. "What's so important that you couldn't call me before you came over?" His voice showed his irritation, but then he began laughing.

"What?"

"Your shirt is inside out." He was holding his sides. I grumbled. Taking off my jacket, I simply pulled the shirt over my head and put it back on. He was staring at me, blinking.

"What? It's not like you didn't see my bra already."

His smirk was very evil as he said, "But that one's prettier." I was confused. When I pulled the neck of my t-shirt forward, I looked down. There really wasn't much to it. It was mostly lace. And it was pink. "You're going to have to stop doing stuff like that around me, Natsumi. I don't think I can take another cold shower, just now."

"Screw that. I didn't come over here to banter with you." After a moment of glaring at him, I said, "Aoi just called me. He wanted to know if I was sleeping with you. I asked him, 'If I said I was?' You know, just to see what he'd say. And then he threatened you. He said you should be 'very very careful.'" I was panicking, and I knew it. I couldn't help it. Aoi had a mean streak a mile wide, and everyone knew it. In a direct fight, Kakashi had nothing to worry about, I was sure. But Aoi was sneaky, and there was no way he'd attack Kakashi head on. There was too much chance of his pretty face getting smashed in.

Kakashi's face darkened. "That little shit." He started to pace. "First, he breaks up with you in a very cowardly manner, then he tries to get back with you, and now he threatens _me?_" He stopped, and turned to me, his Sharingan blazing. "I've had enough."

"What?"

He strode over to the couch, and yanked me up from my laying position. "If I'm going to be threatened, there'd better be a damned good reason for it." Then, he took hold of the back of my head, much as he had done two nights before, and pulled me to him. I gasped and tensed as his lips attacked mine. I blinked in surprise, and then sighed into the kiss. He pulled away, panting, after nearly a full minute. "Natsumi, don't you think it's a little ridiculous?"

Gasping for breath, anger rising, I asked, "What's ridiculous, Kakashi? That I didn't want to ruin our friendship?" I pushed away from him, trying to keep my knees from buckling. He is an _extremely_ good kisser, it seems. "Sure, I'm attracted to you. Sure, if I had less self control, I'd be all over you right now. But I don't want to ruin what we have." Of course, I was getting pissed off again. It was inevitable, with this sort of discussion.

"Are you scared?" He took a step toward me, and grabbed handfuls of my shirt front, keeping me from escaping from him.

I swallowed hard. "Scared?"

"Scared you might fall for me, Natsu." My breath was coming in ragged gasps. I realized he was right, but I didn't want to say it out loud. I settled for nodding weakly. I was slowly moving toward him now, because he was pulling my shirt. As I came into contact with his bare chest, I felt his heartbeat. It was just as rapid as mine. _He's scared, too._ He held me close, my face against his chest, and I listened to his heart. Then I heard his voice, soft, and soothing. "Don't be scared, Natsu. What do we have to lose?"

Partially pulling away from him, I said, "Everything. I don't want us to end up like me and Aoi."

"You don't actually think I would do that to you?"

"No…but—" I couldn't finish. I had no excuses to give him. I was just scared.

I made the mistake of looking up at him at that point. His mismatched eyes stared down at me, a completely different light in them now. My famed self-control went out the window then. My knees gave out, and I had to cling to him to keep from falling to the floor. It was so embarrassing…Why did I have to end up acting just like Sakura? It sickens me to think about women who act like that. Fawning all over a man as if she were only ten. I wasn't fawning over Kakashi, but my knees had gone weak twice in the same five minute period, and I was pissed.

After a moment, my legs got their strength back. I stood up straight, looking up at him. At that point, by inhibitions handed over the keys to my hormones. My hands shot up to his hair, grabbing handfuls of it. I pulled him down to my height (which is a significant difference, since I only reach his chin). My lips brushed over his, hesitantly. He tried to kiss me, but I held his head back. A slight smile on my lips, I continued this delightful torture for a few more moments, then let go of his hair, and he stood up. I jumped onto him, wrapping my legs around his hips.

He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. With me pressed against him, He made a low moan, and seized my mouth again. For a minute, I swear I saw stars. Then, I pulled away from him.

"Kakashi…"

"Yes?"

"You know this is probably a bad idea, right?"

"The worst. Do you care?"

"Not a bit. Where's your bedroom?"

He jerked a finger toward the back of the apartment. "Second door on the right."

After I slid down from my perch, I said, "Race you." I should have known better. No sooner than the words were out of my mouth, I found that he'd disappeared. A split second later, I heard him calling to me from the bedroom.

"Hey, why so slow?" I snorted in laughter, but took my time getting to the back of the apartment. I left my coat where it had fallen in the living room, my shoes in the hall, and my jeans and shirt in the bedroom doorway. He sat at the foot of his bed, and smirked. "I knew that you matched." I looked down at myself. Sure enough, my panties matched the bra I was wearing.

"Coincidence." I walked over to the bed, and pushed him onto his back. Straddling his hips, I said in a husky voice, "Didn't I tell you that you'd know if I was flirting with you?" He nodded vigorously. "Now, you said something about me being scared?"

* * *

The next morning, because Kakashi never seemed to set his alarm, I was late for class. I cursed myself for falling asleep, then I remembered the reason why I had been so tired, and I smiled. I stifled a giggle. _Oh, God. Not me, too._ There was no way I was going to turn into another Sakura. _Fuck that shit. No way._ In spite of me trying not to, I was grinning stupidly, and when I ran into Ino, I had some explaining to do. 

"What's that stupid smile for, Natsumi? You look like you…" She didn't finish. Her eyes grew very large. "You_ didn't!_"

Blinking on purpose, I said in the most innocent voice I could muster, "Didn't what?" All the while, I furrowed my brow in assumed confusion.

She grinned malevolently. "Don't give me that, you little liar. Spill it. You slept with Kakashi, didn't you?"

_Wow. I guess it's pretty obvious, huh?_ I put my hands on my hips. "What business is it of yours? It wasn't _my_ idea. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. He's just very…persuasive. That and my hormones decided that they were going to mutiny." Ino gave me the "It's about time" speech, and then seemed very happy for me. "Oh, God, Ino. Stop acting like that stupid twit Sakura." Of course, the comparison to the pink-haired annoyance shut her up very quickly.

Later in the hallway of the science building, I had a pair of hands cover my eyes. _Kakashi…doesn't he know I have class and other things to do?_ I turned around, but found myself less than four inches from Aoi's face. He was looking at me in that disgustingly lustful way he has, and I felt sick to my stomach. _How did I ever like that look?_ He smiled toothily. My eyes narrowed.

"How's your boyfriend?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.

I knew he couldn't do anything to me in the crowded hallway, so I said, "He's fine. How's yours?" I saw his right hand twitch. _He wants to hit me…I'm glad he never got the chance to while I was with him._ "I mean, you're almost pretty enough to be a girl, Aoi. I thought that there should be at least _some _men that find you attractive." I smiled sweetly at him. Then, I spotted Hinata. She saw who I was standing with, and rushed over.

"Natsumi-san! I've been looking all over for you! Please, come with me. Ino-san needs you right away." We left Aoi standing there in the corridor, and Hinata pulled me into Ino's office. I breathed a sigh of relief. Ino asked what was going on, and Hinata told her.

"That bastard! Should I call the campus police?" I shook my head. There wasn't enough at the moment for me to say that he was stalking me, unless you count the fact that he threatened my new boyfriend, and then showed up at my school.

"Wait. Yes. Call them. I want his ass gone." Calling the police did no good, though. He was calling me late at night for the next week. It got to the point where I couldn't sleep, wondering when he was going to call me again. I started seeing dark circles under my eyes.

My "self-defense" class was postponed until the following Tuesday, and when I finally arrived at Kakashi's apartment, he was nearly bouncing off of the walls in anticipation.

* * *

I had brought with me my yoga clothes, from back when I had time to actually practice A black tank-top and loose-fitting sage-green yoga pants were what I was wearing when I came out of the bathroom. I saw Kakashi still in his jounin uniform. "Can you at least take off the mask and your forehead protector? I like to be able to see your face." He complied, happily. It would allow him better opportunity to kiss me, he said. 

He first showed me how to repel attacks from the front, then from behind. For every move he showed me, there was a short wrestling match that he always won. He wouldn't let me up until I kissed him. _Maybe it was a bad idea to make him lose the mask…_

Then, he started showing me more complicated techniques that involved some Aikido, where you use the person's momentum to get them off of you.

During one of these times, I remembered what happened at the school. I was trying to use Kakashi's momentum to make him fall to the ground. It hadn't worked yet. Then I told him, "Aoi showed up last Wednesday while I was at school," and he lost his concentration. I pinned him to the ground, and he looked up at me, stunned.

"Did you call the police?"

"Yes." I said this as I stood, helping him up in the process. "But it hasn't done any good. He's still calling me late at night. I can't sleep."

"Turn the ringer off."

"Won't that just piss him off? He never really has liked being ignored. And he's the jealous type." _That's a bit of an understatement, isn't it?_

Kakashi grabbed me, pulling me to him. "I'd be jealous too if I'd been a total idiot and broken up with you, Natsumi. The guy is just now realizing his mistake."

I snorted. "I guess it sucks to be him, then. No amount of stalking and late-night phone calls with him calling me 'darlin'' will make me go back to him, and I think he knows that." He was like a kid with a toy he didn't really want, but didn't want anyone else to have it. _Bastard. Asshole. Jerk. Mega-moron._ I started to get really angry, and I was about to push Kakashi away when he saw it coming. Suddenly, I was going weak in the knees again, because he was kissing me. _God, will I ever get used to this?_ When he pulled away from me, I swatted at him weakly. "Teme. You do that on purpose." He nodded, smirking.

"But it works, doesn't it?" He was very smug, but I was still too giggly to be mad at him. That was the only really annoying thing. If I was mad at him or anything else, he would just kiss me, and I'd shut up. It was a very effective way to settle an argument. I went to get a glass of water, and then heard my cell phone ringing.

I rant over to my bag. Taking it out, I flipped it open, and said, "Hello? Takuda Natsumi speaking. What? Oh, no…I'll be right there." I closed the phone, and blinked. Looking over at Kakashi, I said, "My apartment's pretty much gone." From the confused look on his face, I figured that further explanation would be necessary. "There was a fire. Everything's been burned. I have nothing." I was in shock. When he tried to hug me, I pushed away from him. "Don't touch me right now, I need to think."

For a long moment, I stared at the air between my face and the door. Then, all of the pieces fell into place. "It was him. I know it was." My voice was quiet. Then, I screamed, "Dammit! Fucking Aoi! I'm going to kill him. That's it!" I grabbed my bag and my shoes, and headed for the door. Kakashi got between me and the door. "Get out of my way." He shook his head. "Move it, Kakashi. I mean it." He still didn't move, and I dropped my bags and launched myself at him, hitting him. Punches turned to slaps, slaps lost their strength, and then I collapsed against his chest, sobbing. He put his arms around me.

"Why? He's the one who broke it off…Just because I've moved on, it doesn't give him the right to—"

"Shhhh. It's alright. You had renter's insurance, yes?" I nodded. Then I smiled weakly. Sure, my stuff would mostly be replaced, but there was so much that was one-of-a-kind. All of my paintings, the jewelry I'd made, my costumes, everything. It was all gone. Total, I'd spent hundreds of hours on all of that stuff. It was irreplaceable. Then, there were all of my photos, and books.

His hand stroked my back soothingly. "I love you, Kakashi."

"I love you, too, Natsu." Neither of us made a huge production of it. We both knew. We'd known for a long time, we just never really said it before. "Want to go and see if anything is salvageable?" I nodded.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm still giggling from writing that. Not the arson part. Just the last part...and really, who wouldn't see stars if Hatake Kakashi was kissing them? Ja ne! 


	3. Surprises

**A/N:** Wow. I'm real tired, so I'll make this note short. Aoi is a slimy bastard, and I hate him, and there is a little bit of his student in this story (Morino Idate), and they're still kind of close...I know that's not the way things were in the anime, but there's no Natsumi there, either. Also, I think it wouldn't be a kids show if it was like my story. Sooooo. Watch as Aoi becomes slimier!

* * *

Chapter 3: Surprises. 

"Oh…my…God." I walked through my apartment. There was nothing. Everything had been burned to cinders. The refrigerator had even been melted. Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"This is arson." His voice was a low growl. "Not just any arson. This was done by ninjutsu. I think we have our proof that it was Aoi. Or at least a little circumstantial evidence." He was scanning the apartment with his Sharingan. "There are traces of chakra all over this place. What a bastard." He took my hand and squeezed it.

The landlady came in. "I'm very sorry, Natusmi." She put a hand on my shoulder, and smiled reassuringly. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"I—"

"She's staying with me." Kakashi said quickly. He looked down at me, and smiled under his mask.

"Well, can you leave a contact number?" The old lady asked mildly. I told her that she could just use my cell phone number, since I'd already given her that. "That would be just fine, dear. The insurance people should be calling you within the next couple of days." She was a nice old woman, but I really didn't feel like talking to her just then. Thankfully, she got the picture and left after that. It was really just sinking in that everything I owned, other than the clothes I had with me and my cell phone was now completely gone. _Bastard. Fucker. Mother-fucking-bastard!_

I sighed. Kakashi tried to cheer me up. "Let's go find some other clothes for you. It's too cold for you to go around in that stuff." He must be the only man I know who actually likes shopping. The only straight man that does, anyway.

--

We were in a department store, and he was looking around. "What's your favorite color? Green, right?" I nodded. "Ok. Go into the dressing room. I'll start bringing things in."

I bristled. "I don't get any say in this?"

"Nope. I'm paying, so I get to pick." I tried to smile, but I didn't know his taste yet. I went into one of the dressing rooms, and sat on the little bench, dreading what he was going to start throwing over the door. The first things that came over were a pair of blue jeans and a loosely knitted green sweater. I couldn't argue with that. "Get that on and then come out. I wanna see."

It was decided that the sweater was not a good choice, but the jeans were good. He left to go get more stuff. I waited, admiring the way the jeans fit. Then I looked at the price tag. I was wearing one very expensive pair of pants. I swallowed hard. Two more sweaters, a long black leather skirt with slits up the sides, and a dark red lace shirt came over the door, as well as a _very_ beautiful green gown. "Um Kakashi? How much do they pay you?"

"Enough. Now, try the dress on first." I did, and he took it immediately, grinning from ear to ear behind his mask. I can tell when he does that, at least. "That's a definite yes. Next!" I shook my head when he started to drool at the skin-tight lace shirt and the leather skirt. Another yes.

"Can you bring me something less revealing? Please? I don't want my history professor to be staring at my cleavage!" He laughed hard at that, but said he didn't want that guy staring at my boobs either. The next thing he brought was much more to my liking. It was a dark blue shirt, with sleeves long enough for me to keep them over my hands, and a pair of leather pants. "You like leather, don't you?" I asked as I walked out of the dressing room yet again.

"Yup. It looks good on you." He cocked his head to one side, then pushed me into the dressing room, following and closing the door. _I know exactly what he's thinking. _Sure enough, he tested how easy it was to take them off of me…they didn't really prove to be too troublesome, so he decided that they were coming home with us, too. He didn't seem to care how much money he spent. After all was said and done, he was loaded down with twenty shirts, five skirts, six pairs of jeans, the green gown, and we hadn't even gone to get me a new pair of shoes yet.

"Kakashi? Are you going to be able to afford this?" He nodded.

"Ususally, I'm pretty cheap. I haven't bought myself new clothes in about a year. Mostly, I spend a little on books." I nodded, knowingly. Icha Icha Paradise books actually _were_ pretty cheap. After I grabbed a couple pairs of shoes, he asked me my size. When I wondered why he needed to know, he said, "For the gown. I was going to see if I could find anything to go with it."

"God, Kakashi. You're such a girl." He set down the large pile of clothing.

"Then I guess that makes me a lesbian, doesn't it?" He kissed me, and ran off in search of shoes. I rolled my eyes. He could be very strange. After less than five minutes, he was back. "What do you think?" My eyes widened. The gown was made of satin, with spangles around the plunging neckline and shoulders. There was a slight train, and it was really beautiful. The shoes were even prettier. They didn't have pointy toes, which I hate. They were made of a green satin that was a very similar shade to the dress, and had little beads all over them. There were ribbons that would tie around your ankles like ballet slippers.

"Kakashi, there's just times when you scare me." He smiled. I leaned over and gave him a big wet kiss. "They're really beautiful."

"Glad you like 'em." He then took up all of the clothes, and walked over to the front of the store. Sure enough, he bought every last piece. I was stunned. There was no limit to the surprises he had up his sleeve. All of the stuff was put in bags and boxes, but that way, the two of us couldn't carry it. So, Kakashi talked to the manager, and had it all delivered to his apartment.

--

Later that week,

Aoi called my cell phone, wanting to meet with me. "Why should I?"

"'Cause I love you, darlin'."

"Don't call me darlin'. I never liked it. And I'm not going to meet with you. You are the biggest asshole I've ever had the displeasure of being associated with. What the fuck do you want, Aoi?"

"I want you the hell away from Hatake Kakashi." There was that dangerous tone again. Two can play that game, though.

"Bastard! You have some nerve! How dare you try to tell me what to do? I'm not even dating you anymore. Not like I listened to you when I was…" I trailed off. Then, I decided to just get rid of him. "Why am I even talking to you?" And I hung up. _Mental note: get that caller ID thing!_

I called my cell phone company and set up the caller ID service, and they said it should be available immediately. Who says they don't have good customer service? I dialed information. "Yes, can you give me the address of the nearest police station?"

--

I went over to the police station, and asked about filing a restraining order. After being referred to the proper people, I had the paperwork finished by the end of the day. Aoi was now not allowed within fifty yards of me, and if he called me, he could be arrested, as well. I walked back to Kakashi's apartment, happy as a clam. He had given me a key, and I unlocked the door. When I walked in, I found Kakashi asleep on the couch. He'd fallen asleep with his mask on.

"Hey, baka!" I poked his chest. He woke up, staring up at me.

"Where've you been? I skipped out on work today, but you were gone."

"Serves you right. I was out getting a restraining order against Aoi."

He frowned behind his mask. "Do you think that'll do any good?"

I smiled. "Probably not, but it really sets things up for if I have to kill him. Self defense!" Kakashi blinked at my tone, which was a little too chipper.

"Remind me not to piss you off." He chuckled, only half-joking. I laughed openly at him. His face brightened.

"Damn straight, buddy. But if you did, you'd just kiss me, and that would be the end of it like it usually is." I bent down, pulling down his mask. After giving him a small kiss, I flopped down on the couch, using him as a cushion. He grunted. "So, do we have any plans for tonight?"

"Yup."

When he said nothing more, I made an annoyed noise in my throat. "Well?"

"Sorry. It's a secret. Go take a shower."

"But it's only four in the afternoon!"

"I didn't say it was for getting ready to go out, did I?" The smirk on his lips reminded me oh-so-much of his hentai books. When my eyebrows tried to climb into my hairline, he said, "I like watching you, Natsu." My face turned ten different shades of red. He _did_ like that, yes.

When I gained a little composure, I snorted. "Whatever, baka. Watching isn't your strong suit." I wasn't lying either. The last time he had "watched" me shower, I didn't get clean at all. His smile broadened. I waved him off. "Anyway, I need a nap. Dealing with all of those cops today…way too much paperwork, and I didn't even get a donut!" Both of us laughed. That had to be the corniest joke I'd ever told. After that, I just went into the other room to take a nap, and was shaken awake less than two hours later so that I could get ready to go out.

--

"You'll need to wear that lovely dress." His eyes gleamed with a very happy and mischievous light.

"Where the hell are we _going_, Kakashi?" My voice came out as a whine, which was not intended. He only smiled and murmured, "Someplace nice." I groaned. Steadying my voice so that it came out as less of an annoying whine, I said, "I hate it when you get cryptic."

He just laughed and shoved me into the bathroom. "Damned Kakashi," I grumbled as I turned the water on. I stripped off the shirt I'd been wearing, and and started tugging off my jeans. Then my cell phone, which was in the back pocket of my jeans, started to ring. I looked at the small screen. The newly acquired caller ID didn't reveal a number I knew, so I answered it, ready for a wrong number.

"Natsumi, dear, I have in my hand a piece of paper that says I'm not supposed to go near you or call you." Aoi's voice was strangely bemused, and almost hypnotic. "Why?"

I sighed and sat down on the edged of the tub. "You dense or something? I got a restraining order against you because you're stalking me. It's a logical thing to do." I heard him make an annoyed noise. "Aoi, I'm asking you nicely, please leave me alone. I don't want to be with you anymore." _This is really getting old…_

"It's all because of Hatake, isn't it?" His voice had become deadly quiet.

"No. It's because you're an evil bastard, Aoi. The sooner you realize that, the better off both of us will be. Why not go bother someone else? You're pissing me off." My voice was tired now. I just wanted to get rid of him, and I was quite surprised and proud of myself for not having yelled at him yet.

"I'll be seeing you, Natsumi." The line went dead. The _only_ good thing about the conversation was that he didn't call me darlin'. It took the entire duration of my shower to get my cheerful attitude back.

--

After I blow-dried my hair, I twisted it up into a complex style, and held it in place with six senbon needles I'd randomly found in Kakashi's bathroom (after making sure that there wasn't any poison on them, anyway).

While I'd been in the shower, Kakashi had brought the dress and shoes into the bathroom. I slipped the dress on, liking the way the slick satin felt against my skin. The sleeves were long and sheer. The neckline was very low, and the spangles only called more attention to that area. There was no tugging it up, though. The dress was simply too tight. When I put the shoes on, I felt tall. The heels must have been three inches high. Ususally I only wear short heels, so it was an odd feeling.

I stepped out of the bathroom to find Hatake Kakashi standing in the middle of the living room in…a tuxedo? I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. I take that back. I bit both of my lips, and I was not completely successful. It wasn't the tuxedo that was funny. It was the fact that he was wearing his mask _with_ the tux. My laugh died in my throat when his eyes lit up, though. You just can't laugh at that. I cleared my throat to cover my laugh, and said, "Will you please tell me where we're going?"

He shook his head, and pulled a long green piece of cloth from his pocket. _A blindfold? Now this is getting a little ridiculous._ He wrapped the cloth around my eyes, and I couldn't see a damned thing. "You better not let me trip, baka." I was grumbling, and I knew it. It didn't matter just then. I hate not being able to see where I'm going.

Kakashi's voice came close to my ear. "Never." His tone seemed as if he were intentionally trying to make my knees turn to jelly. I heard the sound of cloth rustling, and then felt a kiss on my cheek. He had pulled down his mask. "You look beautiful, Natsumi." My hands reached out, feeling for his face. When I'd found it, I kissed him lightly.

"Quit using that tone, or we won't get out the door, lover boy." Kakashi made a happy noise, and took me by the hand.

The stairs were a little bit of problem, but after I took hold of the bottom of the dress, it was fine. Then we seemed to walk for a very long time. For some reason, the ground began to tilt downward in front of me, and I had to lean on Kakashi for balance. He led me along this downward slope for nearly a whole minute. Then, he gently nudged me to the side and made me sit. It seemed that I was on a long stone bench. I was hearing the sounds of people chattering all around me, and I was very curious to see where we had ended up.

His hands untied the knot behind my head, and I looked around. We were in the outdoor amphitheater at the University. There were hundreds of people there, all sitting and waiting for something. _A play?_ My question was answered when a small woman in black walked onto the stage. She held up a sign. It read:

Tristan and Isolde.

I gasped. "Opera, Kakashi?" Looking over at him, I caught his eye. I could tell he was smiling. "I didn't know you liked opera."

"Richard Wagner is the best." I blinked. What the hell else didn't I know about him? He took my hand, kissing my knuckles through his mask. Then, he turned his attention back to the stage, where the music was beginning. Hours later, we left the amphitheater. Kakashi was wiping his eye. I couldn't blame him. Wagner's operas are always really heart wrenching.

"Kakashi, you really _are_ a girl." I teased. I didn't need to see his face behind his mask to see him scowling. I smiled, pulling his lapel. "But I like that about you. Never would have guessed you'd like Wagner." I crooked a finger at him, and he leaned down. "Anything else planned?" My tone indicated something to the effect of if he didn't have anything planned, that _I_ could think of something for us to do.

"Food. I'm starving." I laughed.

"Ok. Let's eat." I hung on his arm as we walked back up the slope of the amphitheater. We walked down the street, chatting quietly, until we heard a loud crash behind us. The street was relatively quiet, and pretty dark. Both of us turned to see six dark figures advancing on us. I gasped. "Oh, fuck."

Kakashi stepped forward lazily. Sighing, he said, "You know, I don't really feel like dirtying my new suit. If you come back tomorrow, I'd be glad to oblige." They kept advancing, and I turned around, noticing that there were four more of them.

"Um, Kakashi…I think we're surrounded." My mouth had going dry as a bone. I felt myself backing up, and then I hit his back with mine, and I jumped.

Kakashi groaned. In a voice that seemed almost weary, he said, "Alright." He was silent for a moment, then I heard him say, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._" There were suddenly eight more Kakashis standing randomly around the street. These clones took care of all but two of the intruders, and the last ones decided to advance on us faster than the rest of the group had. My eyes grew large as one of them reached out for me, and took hold of my left wrist.

Remembering everything that Kakashi had taught me, I stepped toward the man, jamming my stiletto heel into the guy's foot, then used the palm of my hand to deliver an upward thrust to his nose. I heard it break, and I pushed him away. He was holding his nose, doubled over in pain. Kakashi leaned over my shoulder. "Nice. And you didn't even get your dress dirty." I snorted, and picked up the hem of my dress so that I could get enough legroom to kick the man to the ground. Once he was on the ground, I reached down and pulled the black hood from his face. My eyes widened.

"Morino Idate! You little bastard! What the hell are you—wait a minute. How much did he pay you?" I assumed that Aoi had put his former student up to this. He wouldn't say anything at first, so I planted my foot firmly on his crotch, pressing lightly but firmly with the heel of my shoe. "Still not talking?" He howled in pain, and I eased up a little. He stayed silent, and I gave him a sharp jab with my heel. He couldn't even produce sound at that point. I smiled. "Why did Aoi send you, Idate?" I removed my foot, and he sat up slowly.

Looking up at me like I was a poisonous snake, he said, "For crying out fucking loud, Natsumi! Fuuuuuck that hurts! All I know is what I was told. He said I was supposed to take some guys and go get you. That's all. He didn't say why, and he wasn't going to pay me until I delivered you. Fuck…" I decided that he was being honest, and as a reward, I let him stand up before I punched him. He staggered, holding his nose again.

"If I ever see you again, Idate, it had better not be on another of your 'missions,' got it?" I ground out, and he nodded, and then ran away as fast as he could with his injured groin.

"Once again…remind me not to piss you off." I turned to see Kakashi, who was straightening his tie.

"I would never do that to you, Kakashi." I smiled sweetly, and took his hand. "Why not eat at home?" He nodded. We'd both had enough of being out for the evening.

* * *

Tristan and Isolde--for those of you who aren't big opera fans...this is an opera by Richard Wagner, just like Kakashi said. It's really long, and deals with two lovers who are destined to be together but not. Basically, it's like a German/Norweigan folktale on steriods. Wagner never did anything small.

* * *

**A/N**: Now I've had a nap. Don't you think even worse of Aoi now? I've been trying to figure out how to make him less slimy, but nothing's coming to mind, so I guess I'll stick with his natural character... 


	4. Stress

**A/N:** I am so very sorry you guys. I accidentally uploaded the next chapter of one of my other stories instead of the next chapter of this one...I guess that's what I get for doing that just when I woke up in the morning/afternoon (Kakashi won't get out of my head. He's making me late for work/school/getting up in the morning). So. Here's chapter 4. Until I figure out what's going to happen next, you guys will just have to pine and wait, like I am because I have writer's block after this chapter!

**Legal Stuffiness:** I don't own Naruto, as if we didn't all know that already!

* * *

Chapter 4: Stress. 

Ino stared incredulously. Sakura's face was blank. "What?" I asked. My tone was flat.

"What do you mean 'what'?" Ino fumed, and yelled at me. "Why didn't you call me, baka?" I really hadn't thought about it. I take that back.

"I wanted to, Ino, but I didn't want to get you involved."

"What, did you not think I could handle myself? I'm the ninja, not you. While I'm nowhere near as sadistic as you are, I can handle myself just fine." I smiled at that. Now that I thought about it, there was a little bit of Aoi that rubbed off on me. _It's only natural. We were dating for two and a half years._ The blonde woman threw her hands up in disgust.

"Ino, I just don't want anyone to get hurt. Unless it's Aoi."

She walked around her desk and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me like a rag doll. "He's stalking you, burning down your apartment, and now he's sending his goons after you? Sweetie, a restraining order isn't enough." There was a lot of concern in her voice, but I could see on her face that she was thinking up horrible tortures for Aoi.

I sighed. "What am I supposed to do, Ino? Pay off some ANBU members to go to his house—get through all of that damned security—and kill him? For now, until he comes slithering out of the shadows himself, there's nothing I can do."

It was at that moment that Sakura decided to speak. "W-What does Kakashi-sensei have to say about all of this?" Her face was still full of disbelief.

Sighing again, and thinking of how he beat down eight men at once, I said, "He's not happy with it. Why should he be?" Nearly under my breath, I said, "I have half a mind to break things off just so that he's safe." Just then, my head snapped to the left, since Sakura had slapped me as if she were interrogating a particularly hostile prisoner. "Wha-- ?"

When I looked back to her, rubbing my face, Sakura's eyes were like green flames. "Don't you even _think_ about it, Natsumi. He's finally happy. Don't you dare take that away from him." _Wow. She's scary. Super-ninja-scary-bitch._ Then suddenly, she was her normal self, smiling and happy. _What the fuck? She's got some kind of weird split personality disorder or something…_

I took a step back from Sakura toward where Ino stood at the corner of the desk. Sakura waved a quick farewell, and left by way of the door. I turned to my friend, and said, "Is that a regular occurrence?"

"No. She usually keeps all of the aggressive stuff inside. I guess you shouldn't say anything about dumping Kakashi again. She'll kill you." I nodded. She probably would. I certainly knew that she was capable of doing it. Now, I was sure she was just crazy enough to actually go through with it. I shivered. Ino put a hand on my shoulder. "Look, Natsu, if something happens, please call me. I'm your friend. I like to know if one of my friends is nearly kidnapped." I nodded, and hugged her. "Now, you'd better not keep him waiting."

Kakashi had asked me to come home early from school, so I'd skipped classes and told Ino—and Sakura, since she'd been in the room—about Idate and the botched kidnapping. Now headed back to Kakashi's apartment, I kept my eyes peeled for any crazy morons that Aoi might have hired. He had the money and the power to buy anything he wanted, really. I frowned. If that was the case, why was it that he didn't just find himself another woman? And why was he so fixated on me, anyway? He broke up with _me._ _The bastard. Jerk…asshole. Oh, why can't I just come up with new things to call him?_

By the time I got back to Kakashi's apartment, I had thought up a few new words for Aoi, and I was just going over them in my head when I opened the door, only to find Kakashi… _dead_… on the floor, kunai protruding from his chest, blood absolutely everywhere. At first, I only stood there. Then I fell to my knees. I screamed. I cried. And finally, I fainted.

I woke to someone lightly slapping my face. Opening my eyes, I saw that it was Kakashi, but I remembered him being—no. It had to be wrong. My head was swimming. "What happened? I saw you d-d-d-dead, and and and…" His brow creased in worry.

"I'm sorry. I was setting up for a short training session for you. I thought you'd be back just a little later." When I was still confused and shaken, he explained, "That was genjutsu…illusion." I gave a strangled scream of frustration and grabbed the nearest thing I could get my hands on, which happened to be a shoe, and smacked him on the head.

"Baka! Teme! Moron! What the hell? I thought you were dead! I very nearly had a heart attack!" I'd had enough, and I dropped the shoe, taking hold of his shirt instead, burying my face in his chest, and bawling my damned eyes out. "Just don't do that again. I don't think I could take it." I felt him drape his arms around me, and I relaxed into his hold. My tears didn't stop, though.

I suddenly felt myself being picked up off of the floor, and I stopped my stupid crying to see where he was taking me. _The bathroom?_ After he set me on the little bench, he moved to the tub and started the water. First, I was confused. Then he looked at me and said, "You need to relax. Going to make yourself sick if you don't." He was making me a bath. He emptied a small packet of something that smelled wonderful into the water, and then walked over to me. In an innocent voice that was ruined by the twinkle in his eye, he asked, "Ok. With or without your clothes?"

I snorted, and started to get undressed. He brushed past me, and I thought he was leaving. Not so. He closed the door to keep the heat in, and flipped off the lights. "Kakashi, I can't see."

"That's the point. If you don't need to use your eyes, then you can relax more." His tone was like a teacher's, lecturing a student. "Now, finish taking off your clothes." I did as I was instructed, and when the tub was filled, I got in. I heard him settle down onto the floor next to the bathtub. "I'm really sorry. I didn't think that would happen."

As I settled back against the cold tiles, I reached for his arm. Finding it, I gave it a squeeze. "I'm ok. I just need to calm down. What was the training for, anyway?"

"Genjutsu training. I was going to teach you how to dispel it."

"Isn't that reserved for shinobi?"

"Well, Aoi is, or at least was a jounin, so I think that you knowing a few of his tricks wouldn't be a bad thing. I can't really turn you into a ninja or anything, but I thought if you knew what we're up against, it might level the playing field a bit." I sniffed. He said _"what we're up against…"_ My conversation with Ino came back to haunt me. How could I possibly have been thinking that it would help me to put distance between us?

I sighed. "Ok, I don't mind learning. But could we please start with something other than me having to look at your dead body? Please? I wouldn't even care if it was mine. Just not yours." I was on the verge of crying again, and I was having a hard time stopping it.

"Shut up, Natsu. No more talking. Just relax." I heard him moving, and soon, I could feel water dripping onto my face. It felt like rain. My head tilted upward, the droplets falling onto closed eyes, and I smiled. Not sure where the water was coming from, I reached out. I felt his arm, and then his hand. It was holding a sponge. I had been waiting for him to dump a cupful of water onto me or something, but it never happened. I just let the "rain" fall onto my face. It was wonderful. I highly recommend it, actually.

It didn't take long before I was pretty relaxed. No sooner had I relaxed than I felt myself being lifted out of the water. "What—?"

"Didn't I say no talking?" His voice came in an admonishing tone, and my jaw snapped shut. He chuckled. I was dripping wet, but he didn't set me down until he put me onto the bed in his room. When he pulled the bedcovers up over me, he said, "Now, rest. I don't want you going into shock." He sat in a chair nearby, watching me. I closed my eyes. The next thing I remembered, I was staring up at the ceiling.

I looked to the chair, and he wasn't there. I looked around, and found that he was not in the room at all. Then, I thought I heard voices. Snatching up a robe, I threw it on and crept to the door, opening it soundlessly. As I did, I heard Kakashi's lazy voice, saying something about Aoi. "I think he's going to try something worse than kidnapping."

Another voice, even lazier, said, "And what did you want me for?"

At this, a hint of annoyance came into Kakashi's tone. "Because, moron, you're the damned smartest person I know. Maybe you could figure this out. It hurts my head." I silently chuckled. Making sure that the robe was securely belted, I walked out into the living room. Kakashi sat on the couch, across from someone who looked vaguely familiar. Dark eyes, sullen expression…spiky ponytail…oh.

"Hello, Shikamaru." I said with less enthusiasm than I would have liked. He was the laziest bastard on the planet. But you had to admit, he was smart. He raised a hand in greeting. "What are you doing here?"

Smiling ruefully, he said, "I hear you're having a bit of a problem with your ex." As usual, his wit was astonishing. Sarcasm was an art form for him, and he was a master. I nodded, sighing. "Well, let's hear it. Kakashi wouldn't really give me details."

"What do you want first?"

"Chronological order would be best." For once he'd managed to keep the sarcasm from his voice, which I found impressive, considering the utterly unconcerned expression on his face. I told him everything. Well, everything that concerned Aoi. "Hmm. He really is a chicken shit." Shikamaru seemed to be thinking. He turned to Kakashi. "So, arson, stalking, kidnapping, there are really only two more things he can do." I watched Kakashi's eyes widen.

"We can't just keep her locked up, Shikamaru."

"Then go and talk to Tsunade-baasan. She's usually pretty understanding about this sort of thing. You could see if one of your students could guard her, or maybe you could." Shikamaru's placid tone became ever so slightly suggestive at that last. Before Kakashi could retort, I cut in.

"Will someone please act as if I'm actually _in_ the room?"

Muttering something under his breath, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and looked up at me. "By two things, I mean that all he hasn't really tried are rape and murder." I swayed in place. My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. Aoi wouldn't…_No, you know he would._

I was staring at the air between my face and the carpet, unable to focus my eyes. I blinked, trying to shake off the shock. "Fuck. Oh, why can't we just kill him, Kakashi?"

Muttering darkly, he looked away from me. All I caught was something about "Don't give me any ideas," but the rest was inaudible. Shikamaru stood. He looked over at Kakashi. "It's a nice day. I'm going to go and watch the clouds. I'll come back tomorrow, and maybe I'll have something." He always seemed to want to watch clouds. _Lazy bum. _With a parting smirk, he walked out of the door. Then, I heard Kakashi's voice.

"Natsumi."

"Mm?"

"I won't let him touch you." His tone was different from any other I'd heard. I looked over at him. His right hand was curled into a fist, and he was tapping it against the cloth of his mask, just where his lips might be. His voice was protective, and it sounded jealous.

"Do you think maybe we could use help?" I asked hesitantly.

"Like what?"

"Ino said she wanted to help." I really didn't want to involve her. She was my best friend, and I didn't want her to get hurt, or worse, I didn't want Aoi to even look at any of my friends in the way he looked at me the other day in the hall. "She yelled at me for not telling her everything." Kakashi tapped his chin with a finger, considering. "You can't actually be thinking about letting her, can you? She'll get hurt!"

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You've never seen her fight." I nodded. I hadn't seen that, no. But I suppose that I was being protective of my friend, even though I knew that she could take better care of herself than I could. "She'll do." He got up from the couch, and said, "I'll be back later. Get some rest." Just before he went out the door, he turned back to me and said, "Lock the chain and the deadbolt, and don't open the door for anyone, unless it's me."

"How will I know it's you?" I was thinking about that ninja's art where you can disguise yourself as someone else.

He got the hint, and leaned in to my ear. "I'll ask you what color your underwear are." I snorted. He _would_ come up with something perverted as a password. He tried to leave again, and I grabbed his arm. When he turned back, I pulled back his mask.

After giving him a long, lingering kiss, I pulled the black cloth back over his face, and said, "You couldn't possibly think of anything less perverted?"

I could tell he was trying not to smile by the way his eye was trying to crinkle. "I could come up with something _more_ perverted, if you like."

Laughing, I said, "Not as a password, Kakashi. Come back soon, ok?" He nodded, then he was gone. I closed the door and locked the knob, deadbolt and drew the chain. As an extra precaution, I put a chair under the knob. Then I went back into the bedroom and pulled on one of Kakashi's old t-shirts and crawled into bed. Sleep took me quickly, and it was a long time before I woke up.

* * *

The knock at the door was insistant, and annoying. I sat up, wishing that I didn't hear it. Then, I realized that it was most likely Kakashi, and that he couldn't get in because I'd locked the chain and put a chair under the door. Just in case, I threw on a bathrobe. When I got to the door, I looked through the peephole. There was Kakashi, with Ino, Hinata, and Shikamaru. "Who is it?" I shouted through the door. 

Kakashi said, "It's Kakashi. Let me in." I started getting goosebumps. He sure as hell hadn't asked me his perverted password question.

"Sorry. I don't think I will." I said, trying my best to sound calm. Who was it? I didn't think it would really be Aoi, just one of his little henchmen. I watched Kakashi's eye narrowing.

"Let me in, darlin'." Hearing Aoi's words in Kakashi's voice was breaking my brain. _Ohmyholygod!_ _It really is him. Shit. Kakashi isn't here!_

Suddenly, all of the anger that had been bubbling inside me about his stupid stalking just sort of…exploded. "No fucking way, asshole. I'm not letting you in. The least you could do is show yourself you chicken shit." When I had said this, Kakashi's appearance melted away, and there was Aoi, in his old jounin uniform. The other three behind him suddenly looked different, as well. They looked like they were wearing straight jackets, and scuba masks. _Fucking thugs._ Those guys were mercenaries. They'd work for whoever paid them.

Aoi's hands blurred as he did some kind of hand seals. Then he was gone. _Where did he go?_ My answer came when I heard his voice…right behind me. "Natsumi," I felt his breath, hot on my neck, and his arm clamped down around my waist. "I missed you."

"Like hell you did, bastard. You just don't like the thought that I wouldn't wait around for you." I was trying to pry his arm off of me, but it didn't work. He was squeezing me so hard that it was getting difficult for me to breathe properly. I felt his other hand, on my shoulder, moving down over my arm, then moving to the front of my body. Even though I couldn't breathe, and I was starting to see spots before my eyes, I still tried to fight him. There wasn't much I could do, though. The last thing I remembered was hearing him one last time, saying, "Mmm...mine, and no one else's."

* * *

**A/N:** Again. Very sorry. Also, I'm sorry to leave it as a bit of a cliffhanger, but that's really all I've got so far. I wish that I could smile evilly and laugh. But writer's block is not a laughing matter, especially when Aoi has Natsumi in such a position! 


	5. Under Guard

**A/N:** Here's all I've got for now. A sudden burst of inspriation, and now more writer's block. Argh! I'll hopefully be able to post something soon, though. Anyways, if not, let me tell you all Happy Christmas first. Happy Christmas. There. Now that that's done, I'm going to make a small warning. There's a little bit of shocking news in the beginning of the chapter, but anyone who knows anything about Aoi and his personality so far won't be too very surprised. I just wanted to warn you so that you can...galvanize...your self against it.

**Legal Stuffiness**: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Takuda Natsum is my property, however. Please do not use her without permission, or I'll be very sad, and sick Sasuke on you.

* * *

Chapter 5: Under GuardWhen I woke up, I was in a darkened room, with apparently white walls. My head hurt like hell, and I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. I looked around, and saw that I was in a hospital room. _What the hell happened?_ After three more tries, I finally was able to sit up, then I flung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up weakly. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to make it across the room on my own, so I leaned on the wall, using it for support, and went around until I got to the door. I opened it, and stumbled out into the hallway, falling to the floor. 

A man with spiked black hair and a bandage across his face helped me up, and said, "You shouldn't be up after what happened." He led me back inside, and put me back to bed.

"What _did_ happen? Where's Kakashi? Where's Ino?" My confusion over the situation was obvious, and it was only getting worse. He only smiled at me, and left. Annoyance rose, and I started to tap my fingers on the bedcovers. _I hate this. I don't even know what happened! Why does my head hurt? Why am I so weak?_ Then I got an idea. That little chart at the foot of the bed might be able to tell me a few things…

I reached over and plucked it from its holder.

**_Name: Takuda Natsumi _**

**_Age: 25_**

**_Occupation: Graduate Student_**

**_Place of Residence: N/A_**

**_Incident Report: Examination by Tsunade. Patient is suffering from minor injuries: two fractured ribs; as well as aftereffects of an inhaled toxin, as yet unidentified. Also note: evidence of apparent sexual assault._**

**_Treatment: bed rest, increase of fluid intake, contraceptive measures and screening for sexually transmitted disease._**

**_Security: Chuunin guards at hospital, as well as during hours not spent in the presence of Hatake Kakashi._**

I nearly fainted. "Sexual…assault?" I breathed. _That bastard. He did that to me while I was unconscious? _My stomach felt very queasy. Then the dizziness came, and I had to grip the sides of the bed to keep from passing out. "They'd better come up with something better than just security." Just then, the door slid open, and Kakashi came in. I started, alarmed. "Stop where you are. Are you really Kakashi?" My heart was hammering in my chest, and I could barely keep my voice from cracking.

He stopped, hands in his pockets. "What color panties are you wearing, Natsu?" I was never so happy to hear a perverted comment.

When I tried to get up, he ran over to the bed to stop me, and sat on the edge of it. At first, I couldn't speak. "I'm sorry…" I cried into his shoulder, barely able to breathe between the nearly gagging sobs. "I didn't let him in. He just kind of appeared."

"Shhhh. It's alright." He held me close, and I leaned on him for support. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone." I heard the emotion in his voice, and I looked up at him. He was trying very hard not to cry, it seemed. That damned mask and his stupid forehead protector were in the way. I couldn't see his face. I pulled both off at once. What I saw made me want to cry even more. His eyes were so sad…and his lips trembled slightly, as one might think a small child's would when they were putting all their energy into simply not crying.

"No, please don't, Kakashi. If you do, then I'll definitely lose it." I squeezed him, and he returned the embrace much more fiercly. In spite of all his effort, and my request, he began to cry quietly as he held me. To my surprise, I didn't completely lose it. I just cried right along with him, but not like when I saw his genjutsu.

When he partially pulled away from me, he didn't seem like he could look me in the eye. "I…I don't want to lose you." His voice was choked with his tears. "Too many people who were important to me have died." Then he looked at me, his eyes filled with something akin to panic. He gripped my shoulders. "I can't…no. I _won't _lose you, Natsumi." I blinked at the incredible force of the determination in his voice. I had known for a long time about his friends when he was younger. He told me one night when he, Ino and I had all gone to my aunt's bar and drank ourselves stupid.

Just then, the door opened, and Tsunade walked in. I glared at her. "Hokage-sama, I would appreciate it if you would knock." My eyes flicked meaningfully to Kakashi, who was still leaning on my shoulder, and I kept him there in spite of his attempt to pull away.

The older woman smirked, ignoring Kakashi completely. She saw that I had been looking at the medical chart. "I'm glad that you're awake, Natsumi-chan. Now is as good a time as any to ask you. Do you remember who did this to you?"

I snorted. "Yeah. I know who he is, and I can tell you where the bastard lives, too." Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "I'll give you three guesses, Hokage-sama."

"Aoi?"

"You got it. But the last thing I remember is Aoi squeezing me until I couldn't breathe, then him saying something about me being his and not anyone else's." The realization sank in for all of us there that he had raped me after I'd passed out. Tsunade looked furious.

"Kakashi, I want you, Ino and Hinata in my office. Shikamaru too, since you asked him about what to do." When I looked worried, Tsunade poked her head into the hall, and called for the guard. She pointed to the spiky-haired man. "This is Kotetsu. He'll be guarding you when you're not around Kakashi. I'll be switching him out with Ino once a day."

I reached out to shake Kotetsu's hand. "Nice to meet you. I hope you like lectures; school tomorrow, you know." He seemed to almost wilt where he stood. I chuckled. By this time, Kakashi had recovered, and replaced his mask and forehead protector. I asked him, "Do you think he'll do?"

"Better him than Naruto." My eyes widened at the mention of Kakashi's former student. That little crack-head was more perverted than Kakashi. He'd tried to look down my shirt the last time I saw him. It was a good thing that Sakura had been there, because she hit him on top of the head, nearly knocking him out. Yeah, she was really scary. Then I thought of the other third of Kakashi's old genin team. _Uchiha Sasuke. That kid gives me the fucking creeps. _Not only did he have a very cold glare, but he was always brooding about something. He looked at you like he was thinking of different ways to kill you.

"Frankly, that's a good thing." I looked over at Kotetsu. "I'll try to make sure you don't fall asleep in class, ok?" He snorted, then resumed his arrogant smirk. He was interesting. It might take a little doing, but he might make a nice addition to my group of friends. It would just be to pry the guy's mouth open and get him to say something other than things that concerned guarding me.

Soon after this, Kotetsu went back to his post at the door, and barriers were set on the two windows. Tsunade said I'd have to stay overnight for observation, but that I could leave in the morning in time to be at school. Kakashi had brought me a change of clothes, so I didn't have to stay wearing that stupid hospital gown. Honestly, don't they make them that actually _close _in the back?

* * *

"So, off to class!" I was glad that I wouldn't be missing any more school. It was hard enough to catch up with only having missed a couple of classes, let alone as much as if they'd made me stay in the hospital. Kotetsu stifled a groan. "Come on, Kotetsu. It's not _that _bad. You might find my Administration class a little boring, but that's tomorrow. I have my Materials Conservation Lab today." Again, he groaned.

"Don't you take any classes that might interest normal people?"

"What kind of class would _you_ want to go to?" I asked, prodding him in the ribs as we walked.

"Hmm. Never thought about it. I like to read, so maybe a literature class."

I blinked, then decided to tease him. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure you've read all of Shakespeare's plays, and you're a huge fan of Sir Walter Scott." The sarcasm practically dripped from every word, and he made a face.

"Actually, I kind of like Dante better. _The Inferno_ is actually really good." I was surprised. I asked if he liked John Milton, prepared for him to launch into praise (I had noticed that if you like Dante's _Inferno_, you generally like _Paradise Lost_, which I utterly despise). "Ugh. That guy's really…I don't know. He's just not my bag." I laughed at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Ever read Ivanhoe?" I asked. Walter Scott is one of my favorite authors. I love him. I'd never really finished reading anything by Dante, so I didn't think I could really talk about that.

"Mm. I don't think so. Wasn't that one the one that has all the knights in it?" Well, that conversation quickly degenerated into talking about comic books, since he had very different taste in classic literature than I did. We continued on the differences between various superheroes and how much we hate certain art styles until we got to my lab, then picked up the topic again once the class was finished. Then, it was time for him to switch with Ino. We met at the coffee shop in the library. "See you tomorrow, Natsumi-san."

Ino looked after him. I thought I saw her eyeing his backside. "Uh, Ino. Try not to ogle him, will ya?" She turned around, a blush rising on her cheeks. My eyes narrowed. "You're just as bad as Sakura. Why don't you just ask him out?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think that would work out. He's not my type, but it does no harm to look, you know. Besides, you have no room to talk. It took _you_ forever to get together with Kakashi." I sighed. "Anyway, I'm hungry. You want to go and get some food?" I nodded, and we went down the street to our favorite pizza place. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better. I don't remember any of what he…er, did to me, so I guess that's a good thing. But man, do I want to kill him!" Not only had he stalked me, but he had burned my apartment, tried to kidnap me, and he'd done something that I would rather not think about. Something just occurred to me. "I don't think it's me he's out to hurt, Ino." When she looked at me questioningly, I said, "Think about it. He didn't threaten me. He threatened _Kakashi._ I don't remember him attacking me, but Kakashi's really upset about it. What else am I supposed to think?"

"I dunno." Ino was thinking, but I wasn't too surprised when she said, "Shikamaru's always the one who's better with this stuff. It makes my head hurt." I laughed, and we waited for our pizza.

A head poked around the corner of the booth we sat in. "Did I hear my name?" Ino jumped, since Shikamaru popped up right next to her ear. He chortled, and then slinked around the barrier between our booths. Ino moved over, and he came to sit with us. "Sorry about that, Ino." He looked across the table at me. "You think he's got a grudge against Kakashi?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he returned to Konoha and bought off a few people to avoid being prosecuted for being a missing-nin. Then he reformed his ways, or so he said. These are all things that people neglected to tell me until _after_ he dumped me." I looked pointedly at Ino. She looked away quickly. "From what Ino belatedly told me, Aoi was basically shoved over a cliff by one of Kakashi's former students." The fact that he'd lived through that just showed how much of a persistent bastard he was.

Shikamaru didn't look conviced. He just shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Nah. I just think the guy's jealous. Since you're what he wants, he's not _really_ going to hurt you, but my guess is that Kakashi's fair game." Both Ino and I looked at him. _He really is a genius._ Our jaws nearly fell onto the table. The lazy ninja sighed. "_Please_ tell me that you guys considered that before you started jumping to crazy conspiracy theories. Oh, man…you guys are _so_ troublesome." Shikamaru ducked both of our hands, since Ino and I had both reached over to smack him on his head.

"Ok. If that's the case, what do we do about it?" I asked, completely exasperated.

He shrugged. "Well, I can't think of anything that doesn't involve using you as bait. Not without sacrificing a few good shinobi. I like you, Natsumi, you're real cute and all, but I'm not about to risk the lives of any of my comrades if it isn't necessary." I blinked. There was this similarity between him and Kakashi: you never really know when they're suddenly going to get serious on you. And it was adorable with both of them. Ino was trying not to giggle. I rolled my eyes. _She really needs to get laid…_

"I understand, and you don't need to get all pissy. So, tell me about me as bait. I have no objections, as long as there's a reasonable chance of safety."

* * *

Ino and I walked back to Kakashi's apartment without incident, and she settled in to grade some papers while I started on a long-neglected term paper. My eyes didn't want to focus on the book in front of me, and I sighed. _What is my problem? I have no choice. Of course, Kakashi might object, but Aoi can probably spot a replacement jutsu, so it wouldn't be a good idea to try that. So I'll just have to be bait. But will that lazy ass's plan work?_ Kakashi was really very overprotective, so it might not.

Then I heard Ino sigh. I turned, and she was staring out of the window. "What's up, Ino?" She looked over at me, and God, did she look miserable. I got up from the floor where I'd been sitting, and sat next to her on the couch. "Come on, Ino. If I gotta tell you about me almost being kidnapped, you have to tell me what's got _you _depressed. I didn't think it was possible."

"I hate being a teacher. I miss being on the same team with the guys." She looked out the window again. Today was the first time in months that I saw him, Natsumi." She bit her lip. I rolled my eyes. _You mean you miss being on the same team with _him, _don't you? Ha! She's just as hopeless as the rest of us._ I snorted, and she looked at me, and the smug smile I had, and said, "What?"

"Oh, dammit, Ino. You said it to me, so I'll say it to you. Just get it over with." She started sputtering.

"He-he doesn't like me that way, Natsu. I'm sure of that. There's that Sand chick…Temari—" her voice became a growl at the name, a dead give-away that she loathed the woman, "—who seems like she's the closest thing he's got to a girlfriend…" I once again laughed at her. "Dammit, fuck you, Natsu. I don't know why I even told you anything."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Did you even talk to him about it?" She looked away. "Dumb-ass! You should at least talk to him. If you get things straightened out, for good or bad, you'll feel a lot better, I promise. Just look at me and Kakashi!" She looked at me, still sullen.

"You're not just messing with me? Do you really think he'll talk to me?"

I rolled my eyes. "He put up with you for…how long? And I didn't see him coming to sit next to _me_ at the pizza place. He's a lazy bastard, and he'll probably never say anything about it on his own, so you'll have to be the one to approach him. You know that, I'm sure you do." She nodded. "Now, if you want, you can call him and have him come over since you can't leave. I'll go take a nap." I stood up, threw the phone at her, and started walking to the back of the apartment. "Just don't do anything on the couch, ok?" I grinned evilly, and ducked the shoe she threw at my head.

When I got into the bedroom, I flopped down on the bed. I was tired anyway. Too much shit going on all at once, and I needed a nap. I took my cell phone out of my back pocket, and put it on the bed next to me. Ten minutes later, I was dead to the world. There are just some times, when I fall asleep, you can't wake me up with a marching band in the same room. What does wake me up, is the stupid ringer that Kakashi put on my phone. I mean, I love the Pixies, but "Where is My Mind" gets old after a while.

RRRRRRrrrr…Stop! 

I reached out, and grabbed the phone. I flipped it open, and said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Natsumi. How are you, darlin'?"

"Can you ever fucking call me when I'm _not_ sleeping? What do you want now?" I sat up, pushing my hair out of my eyes. "Wait. Don't tell me, 'cause I don't wanna know. Just leave me alone." My finger was inching toward the little red button that was labeled END. Before I could touch it, though, he spoke again.

"Wait, please?" The tone of his voice was pleading, which was unusual to say the least. When I didn't hang up, he continued. "I want to meet with you, if that would be alright. Could you be in the park tomorrow night, nine o'clock, where we used to meet?" There was a park with rolling hills and some statues, where he used to like to meet me.

"Why should I? So you can kill me? That's all you haven't tried. Why are you doing this, Aoi? I'm so tired of fighting you. Why?" I really was tired. So fucking tired. This had been going on for longer than I would have liked. Was he doing it to get me back? That didn't make sense. If he had been, then he wouldn't have incinerated my apartment, or raped me while I was unconscious.

"Natsumi, when are you going to understand that I love you? I've been trying to make you mine again, but you just don't seem to be getting the picture. You're still with him. What is it about him that's so special? Why don't I have that something?" He sounded genuinely hurt. I thought about it for a moment, and then decided that I didn't care. If he thought that attempted kidnapping, arson, rape, and stalking were the best way to make a girl come running back, he had another thing coming.

"Kakashi is something that you'll never be, Aoi. He's a good man." I said this, and then hung up. _Fucker._ The phone rang again. I answered it. "What is it?" This was getting really fucking old, and I was so tired of it, I just wanted to get rid of him.

"Please, Natsumi. Please meet me? Tomorrow night? Please?"

Just to get rid of him, I said, "I'll think about it." And then I hung up again, but this time he didn't call back. "Great. Now I'll never get my nap." Grumbling, I opened the bedroom door and called out, "Is everyone decent in there? I'm coming in!" I walked out into the living room, and there were Ino and Shikamaru, sitting next to one another on the couch. He was looking as lazy as ever, if a little annoyed by the interruption, and I thought that I saw a little bit of lipstick smudged on his mouth. I had to try really hard not to laugh at Ino, since she was really red. "Everything ok?"

"Was until you decided to interrupt." Shikamaru's eyes rolled.

I raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I could go back into the other room…" Ino's eyes grew large. "I _do_ have a pair of earplugs. You'd just have to listen for Kakashi coming back home!" Now Shikamaru turned red, and sighed. "Oh, I was only kidding." Ino looked relieved. "Since I'm guessing that a change of subject would be welcome, Aoi just called me. He wants to meet me, tomorrow night, in the park."

Ino's eyes narrowed. I'd told her about what he used to like to do in the park, and she'd thought he was nuts. In all likelihood, he probably was. I'm not into public displays, but he was. "We'll need Kakashi and one other person." Shikamaru said this, tapping a finger across his lips. "My plan is simple, and might actually work, if you and that cracked out boyfriend of yours can keep your hands off of one another long enough to get it done."

"_I_ can control myself. You'll have to talk to him about that." Shikamaru can be really frustrating. Ino was going to have her hands full, but then again, she was used to him.

"Oh, and you'll need to wear something…distracting. You'll help her, right, Ino?" I glared at him as he said that. I take it back. Frustrating is a mild word for it. He's really fucking well annoying. At that, he rose and moved to leave, but before he could get to the door, Ino moved faster than I'd ever seen her move, grabbed him, and gave him a very memorable kiss goodbye. That was the only time I can think of that he didn't have a sarcastic comeback. He just backed jerkily out of the door, blinking and trying to catch his breath.

As soon as the door closed, Ino made a horrifically loud girlie squeal. "Damn it, Ino! What did I tell you about that? You sound just like Sakura! Humph. Now, let's go and find something distracting from the closet." I only really said that to get her mind off of Shikamaru, but it turned into something like a fashion show.

The final decision was that I should wear the dark red lace shirt with the black leather skirt (slits up the sides to mid-thigh) and a pair of knee-length lace-up combat boots that Ino was going to lend me. I was a little concerned about not wearing anything under the shirt.

"What better distraction than your boobs?" Ino's grin was really quite evil, and I was not a little scared. She was just trying to convince me of this when Kakashi came into the room.

"I agree that her breasts are a distraction, Ino, but why are you looking at them?" Kakashi's tone was one of false jealousy. He walked over to me and gave me one of his knee-wobbler kisses, and then asked what we were doing. After we explained everything to him, he nodded. "Shikamaru's plan is simple, but I'm still worried that you might get hurt, Natsumi. I mean, would he really meet you in a place alone? Wouldn't he bring his goons with him?"

I sighed. Aoi wasn't going to hurt me. His behavior was cowardly, but selfish. When he wants something, he doesn't stop going after it until he either gets it, or he dies. Kakashi agreed to the plan in the end, and Ino went off to see Shikamaru and recruit Kotetsu into the little game. When she'd gone, he looked over at me, a familiar twinkle in his eye. "Oh, no you don't, Kakashi. I need these clothes to be in good shape for tomorrow."

"I can be gentle." As if to prove his point, he ran a light fingertip over my collarbone, and I could barely feel it. That didn't stop me from shivering at the pleasant feeling that resulted from that feather-soft touch.

"At least let _me_ take this stuff off."


	6. Meet Me By the River

**A/N**: Ok, you guys. I finally finished it. It's probably pretty anticlimactic, but pretty satisfying nontheless. I can tell you that I had a lot of trouble writing this because I've been at my parents' house, where the internet is only a distant memory and the fact that I have my laptop with me is only incidental. Visiting friends has afforded me that opportunity to actually post! Now, I have to tell you a little about the chapter, since it't the last one! It's short. I tried to put as many characters in as I could, and also: there's a little OOC. But then again, when do I not give OOC warnings?

Just wanted to say, one more time, I love Kakashi, and this is my favorite Kakashi fic I've done yet, because I got to explore a little bit more of his personality, though he does remain his wonderfully perverted self throughout. Thank you all for your reviews, and for your impatience for new chapters. It really has helped me to actually get this stuff done!

Enough blabbing. For the last time: on with the show!

* * *

Chapter 6: Meet Me By the River

Between classes the next day, I checked my voice messages. There were three from Aoi. The first one was him begging me to meet him. The second was the same, and the third one was him telling me that he would be waiting on the bridge in the park at nine o'clock that night. I called Ino's office, and told her the details. She then called Kakashi, Kotetsu, and Shikamaru. They were all given their jobs, and mine was simply to be the bait, and as well as doing a little acting for the benefit of the plan.

I knew that Kotetsu was hard at work on a genjutsu for the area around the bridge, changing things ever so slightly to allow for concealment of Ino, Kakashi, Shikamaru and himself. Later, I called Aoi back.

"Hello, darlin'. So nice to hear from you. Can I take this as a yes?"

I twitched slightly, disgusted with myself. "Yes. I just want to get this over with, Aoi. I'm so tired of fighting." There was more than a little weariness in my voice, which was not completely me acting. "Nine, was it?"

"You got it. I'll see you then, darlin'." He hung up, sounding rather happy. I seriously hated having to buddy up to him, even if it seemed like I was doing it against my will.

I looked over at Kakashi, who was sitting there watching me. "You know I might have to kiss him, right?"

He nodded. "Just as long as you don't mean it, I think we'll be fine."

"Ok." It was seven o'clock at this point. "Can you just hold onto me? I can't really seem to stop shaking." He shook his head. He was supposed to leave much earlier than I was, to get into the genjutsu with Ino and the others. I was really scared. "Come here, then." I pulled his mask down, and he leaned down, and gave me a double-whammy knee-buckling kiss. When he pulled away, I was grinning like an idiot. "That's all the encouragement I needed. Now get going." When he had gone, I plopped down on the couch, sighing.

* * *

To relax myself, I did one of my old yoga routines. The deep breathing always seems to help when I'm stressed out. Then, I took a hot shower, and dried my hair. After a few more minutes, I got dressed, and grabbed my keys. Steadying myself, I left Kakashi's apartment. There was always the chance that he would have me followed, so I tried to act as casually tired as possible. Really, I was so fucking hyped up on adrenaline that I didn't think I would sleep for days.

I got to the bridge just before nine, and he was already there, waiting for me. Taking a deep breath, I walked to the edge of the bridge. "What did you want to meet me for?" I asked quietly, seeing his eyes roaming over me. I had to try very hard not to let my disgust show. When he did not answer, I walked forward. "Aoi? Are you listening to me?" Finally, his eyes stopped, looking me in the face.

He closed the five-foot gap between us, and immediately leaned down to try to kiss me. I backed away. "Why won't you answer me?" I asked, sounding angry.

"I never said I wanted to talk, did I?" His hand reached out, touching my cheek. Fast as a snake, that hand slipped behind my head, and pulled me to him. For some reason, his kiss was hesitant at first, before it intensified. When he finally pulled away from me, he said, "Come back to me."

"Aoi…" I said as breathlessly as I could. "I—you think one kiss is going to get me back?" I asked in quiet anger. In truth, I had to tone it down, because I was absolutely seething, but he couldn't know that. He just smiled, and kissed me again, this time using both arms to grab me around the waist. Grudgingly, I closed my eyes, and kept them that way, allowing myself to respond to the kiss. Then, he pulled away just enough to speak.

"How about two?" His voice was amused. My eyes were still closed, so I didn't see his face, but I could tell he was smiling, because I had my most confused and emotional face on, and I can actually be a pretty decent actress when I want to be. I could feel his breath on my face, and I made a small noise of frustrated confusion, furrowing my brow. "Hmm." His breath moved down to my neck, and I could feel his mouth there, first kissing my throat. Something wet was running along my earlobe then, which must have been his tongue.

I started shaking. He must have taken this as a sign that I wanted him to continue, but I really just wanted to hit him so badly that I was shaking with the effort of not doing just that. He made a small happy noise, then turned with me in his arms, so that he could push me against the railing of the bridge. "Ahhh. Aoi…s-s-stop." He did, and then I opened my eyes, and we stared at one another for a moment. I tried to steady myself. "Is this all you wanted from me? You want to make out with me in a public place?"

"No, Natsumi." His voice was low and seductive. A few weeks earlier, that voice would have driven me mad. Now, it just made me angry. "I don't want to make out with you." He pushed himself against me harder, and I felt an unmistakable bulge in the front of his pants. "I want you, right here. I want you to _want_ me." That was Aoi for you. He was never one to hold back from asking for what he wanted, even if he meant to take it anyway.

I spoke as rationally as I could, under the circumstances. "Aoi, I don't know what to say to that. Really. I mean, you've done such horrible things…"

"Only to get you away from Hatake."

I couldn't control myself. "Why? You broke up with _me._ What is it that you have to get out of your system? Do you need to break me? Is that what you're trying to do?" Tears had begun to form in my eyes.

"No. I don't want to break you, darlin'. I just want you to know that you belong to me, and only me. Do you understand that?" I nodded. "Good. Now, let me see…" His hands moved under my shirt, and I bit my lip. _When the hell are they going to come out? Damn it, Kakashi, what are you waiting for? His guard is down! _Suddenly, Aoi's body went rigid. He removed his hands from me, and stepped back. I looked around, and saw Shikamaru, his body in the same position as Aoi's. "What the fuck?" Aoi's eyes bulged. "What is this, Natsumi?"

I relaxed. "What's it called, Shikamaru?"

"_Kagemane no jutsu_. Shadow binding technique. Like it?" His voice was lazy as usual.

"Very much. Can I hit him?"

"I wouldn't if I were you." Ino's voice came from my left. I saw her step forward. "If you hit him, I'll have to hit you. Whatever happens to him is mirrored in Shika's body." She walked up to Aoi. After she looked at him for a moment, she pinched his cheek. Hard. He glared at her "Too bad. I've been wanting to knock the fuck out of him for some time now. Wait. I have an idea."

"What's that, Ino?" Kakashi stepped forward, coming to my side.

"How about we tie him up, _then_ beat the crap out of him?" Her voice was filled with a kind of glee.

Kotetsu came out, and dispelled the genjutsu. All it had really done was create an extra tree and two large rocks for them to hide in. "Sounds like a plan to me. Of course, we'll have to take him to the Hokage. He's going to need questioning. Tsunade-sama has a special treat planned for this one." The smile on his face was just as evil as Ino's.

"Whatever you decide to do, do it quickly." Shikamaru was beginning to sweat. Kotetsu quickly checked Aoi for weapons. He found three kunai, and a small pouch sewn into the lining of Aoi's coat that held a few shiruken. Ino took out a length of rope, and bound his arms behind his back, making sure to keep his hands at angles to one another so that he could under no circumstances perform hand seals. His feet were bound as well, and he was gagged, too. Shikamaru released his jutsu, and leaned on the railing. He sighed, and closed his eyes.

"After you." Ino looked at me, and gestured to Aoi. "You get first crack at him."

I frowned. "You know, I almost wish I'd worn pants. I've wanted to kick him in the face for a while now. Fuck it." I pulled my skirt up a bit, and that was just enough. Cocking my head to one side, I said, "This might sting a little, _darlin'_." I'm really not sure where I picked it up, but according to Ino, I delivered a perfect front-kick to Aoi's jaw, sending him slumping to the ground.

Ino slapped her forehead. "Oh. I forgot to tell you, Natsumi…those boots are steel-shanked. You knocked him the fuck out!" That made me laugh.

"Oops?" I smiled down at his limp body.

Kakashi looked at Kotetsu. "You and Shikamaru take him to the Hokage's tower. I'll take Natsumi home. Ino, you can help them, if you like. Or you could come with us and have a beer." He looked at the others. "You guys are invited, too. I think we could all use a drink after this." It was true. I really could use a nice stiff drink. Bourbon sounded really good, for some reason.

* * *

After I had changed out of my "distraction" outfit, Kakashi and I met Ino, Shikamaru, and Kotetsu at a nearby pub. I held up my glass, filled with ice and single-malt Bourbon whiskey. "To steel-shanked boots, and Aoi behind bars!"

Ino shook her head. "To things being just as they should be."

Kakashi nodded, as did Shikamaru and Kotetsu. Glasses clinked, and we all had a nice long drink before setting our glasses down. Kakashi asked, "Now, what are you planning to do? You got your check from the insurance people. It's pretty big. You could _buy_ an apartment with that."

"You've been going through my mail?"

"No. I looked over your shoulder when you opened it up." He was grinning under his mask. I still didn't understand how he got any of his beer into his mouth with that mask on, but he seemed to be doing ok. I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're avoiding the question, Natsu."

"I am not. I was buying time while thinking. You're not trying to get rid of me, are you, Kakashi?" His visible eye widened, seemingly horrified at the thought. That, at least, made me happy. "Well. I'm not sure. How about I just stay with you for the time being, and we can figure things out from there?"

"Sounds like a plan."

I grabbed the front of his shirt, stood up, and began dragging him to the door. "See ya, guys. Be good, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" I heard grumbling from Shikamaru and Kotetsu as Kakashi and I left the building. His grunts of protest at being dragged down the street disappeared and then he asked me what was going on. "I gotta get you out of that mask. I really have taken a liking to seeing your face. And since you only seem to take it off when you're at home, that's where we're going." I continued to drag him for a few more moments, then I felt his hand on my wrist.

It was a gentle pressure, but I released his shirt nonetheless. My feet stopped moving, and I turned around. Kakashi pulled me forward, and I came into contact with his chest rather quickly, causing me to grunt. In the middle of the crowded street, with people doing their evening errands, Kakashi pulled down his mask, and removed his forehead protector. "Natsumi…"

"Hmn?"

"I love you." His voice had gone serious again. There really was no telling when he would do that. I smiled up at him.

"I love you, too…but should you be doing that in public?"

He smiled in a very impish way. "Well. It isn't every day that I ask a woman to marry me. I figure, it's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, so I could show my face, since I decided to do it in public." I blinked. And I blinked again.

"Huh?" Shock. Surprise. Complete and utter bewilderment. Those were my feelings at the moment.

"You heard me, you dope. Marry me." Was he playing with me? No. Even with that little gleam in his eyes, his voice said it all. I knew what I wanted to say, I just couldn't get my mouth to work. "Natsumi? Are you ok?" He looked concerned, since my jaw was moving up and down, like I was trying to talk, but not a damned sound was coming out. I probably looked like a fish gasping for air.

"F-fine. Did you just say what I think you said?"

He nodded. "Yes. Are you going to give me an answer, or do I have to convince you in the middle of the street?" My eyes widened as his arms tightened around me. "Well?"

I swallowed hard, then took a deep breath. "Well, let me think about it for a second. You want me to marry you…" I pretended to think for a split second and then smacked him. "Of _course_ I'll marry you. What kind of stupid question is that?" I rolled my eyes, then grabbed the front of his shirt and started dragging him again.

"Again with pulling me down the street? Why?"

When I turned around, I smiled evilly. "You wanted to convince me? I don't need it, but you can pretend I do." He smiled wider than I had ever seen before. "What are you smiling for?"

"Nothing. I just think I'm going to like this…"

* * *

**A/N:** So...I know it isn't really usual to have him asking someone to marry him or anything, but If it happened, I think that's pretty much how he would do it...acting like a total smartass! Well? Tell me what you thought! 


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